I Did It! I said I'd do it, and I did. I'm almost certain of it!

It really doesn't matter if I win. Usually. But it's true that I've become more competitive over the past year.

I started out racing just for the adrenaline rush, the camaraderie and the fitness test. Where else do you really push yourself to do the best you can, but in a race? No excuses for "taking it easy," it's a race! The time to take it easy is after the race.

This weekend's five-miler called "Run for the Hill of It" was on my "home turf." The course is a wide, beautiful trail I run at lunch in mild or cold weather and early or late in the day in the hot summer time. I've run the exact part of this trail for almost an entire year, at least once a week and four or five days a week for the last half of 2007, until I began cross-training for triathlon. This is the trail I take to when I want to pass a new time, distance, or intensity milestone. It's like a favorite pair of jeans. So, yeah, I wanted to win my division in this one. I told everyone at work I was going to. Everyone was very excited.

It was an unbelievably gorgeous day. Low humidity and low 70's. It's JULY and it's Philadelphia!!! (I guess it's too much to think it could be like this next weekend too, for the SheROX triathlon?) We'd had some rain a couple of days before. A lot of rain. So there were some mud puddles to dodge and the usual horse poo and path irregularities that I am so familiar with. The race was very well attended. There were just over 400 people registered. I was kind of surprised. I had no idea it was this popular.

I met a lot of very interesting people and had a ball. I love meeting other runners and hearing their stories. There's always a good story!

My race was good, but my pace wasn't. I was faster going out than I was coming back. I've got to get a handle on this! It's starting to bug me. I passed a very fit chick who was obviously younger than I am on the way out, and I knew I would never finish before her. But I still couldn't force myself to slow down and save up for the last half. In a race like this, a five-miler, there is so much opportunity to improve a lot about your run, especially on a very familiar course. It's one of those things I like to do on this trail. A milestone. But I continued on "in my zone." On the way back, she did pass me, and she finished almost a minute ahead of me. She was the ONLY woman I saw after the turn-around. I decided that if I didn't win my division, the winner was way ahead of me and there was no way anything I did would have mattered. Maybe that's why I slowed down a bit.

Just before the finish line I overtook someone who was flagging. I said, "Come on! we've got to finish strong! I'll 'race you' to the finish!!" He smiled and said thanks, and poured it on. We sprinted to the finish, crossing at the exact same time to the enthusiastic cheers of everybody watching. Now that was fun!! We "high-fived" and then I never saw him again.

Next came food and meeting up with people I talked to before the race and hearing about plans for the next races. Lots of the women I talked to are doing SheROX. Very cool.

Then came the awards. This is where it got confusing. I really should have been wearing my glasses. The timing was provided by Lin-Mark, and they post the results on a board at the race finish line. I asked someone to read my line for me so that I would know my pace, my time and my overall place as well as my place in my age & gender division. According to the results, I placed second out of 17 women in my age group, 19th out of 165 women, and 114th overall. Not bad for an ol' girl whose only been back at running for 11 months, after about 20 years off. I was happy, even though I didn't live up to my promise to win First!

Then the awards were given. When they got to my division, they announced the third and second place winners (not me! Huh!!) and then, "First place, from Broomall, PA, finishing 39 and change [I'm sure that's what he said!!], Diane Arnold." I was stunned and confused. But hey! They handed me my medal and my envelope containing a gift certificate and that was that. Back with my friends, one pointed out that they gave me the silver medal, not the gold. "Eh, it's ok, I said. Maybe they were confused and really I should have had the silver all along." It's just too bad the real winner didn't get the verbal acknowledgment and applause.

So, I went home and after lunch and a shower and my husband's return from his stuff and after I returned from getting my glasses adjusted, I finally told the story to my family, who had already seen the medal and GC sitting on the dining room table. (Dave, my husband, pointed out that the envelope for my GC said "M 55-59 2nd place." They *were* confused!!) We decided to check lin-mark online to see what the official results looked like. As of today, the results are still contradictory. My stats (see #114) still say 2 out of 17 in my division, but the awards page (F 45-49) says I placed first.

The only thing that bugs me about this is that the husband of a woman I was talking to was upset because when he got to the podium for his second place award, they were out of silver medals. "Out? How do you run out?" I asked. I'll tell you how... You give too many silver medals out! I might have his. I would like to be able to give it to him. I sent an email to Lin-Mark and I plan to forward it to the organizers of the race, in case they want me to return my medal to give to this other winner. If they don't still have my medal, I won't die. I had a great day and I don't need the medal to remember that.

Low Energy

It's 10 a.m. I'm looking forward to meeting a friend in Philly for dinner tonight. We're hitting a Thai restaurant I haven't been to before. A BYO, my kinda place. I'm hoping that I'll have a bit more "pep" by then.

We had a kickin' thunderstorm last night, and I was out sleeping on the porch. Really nice. I slept very well, with the exception of maybe a half-hour when I lay awake enjoying the lights and sounds and the very brief mist on my face. I fell asleep again with lights still flashing in the sky. When my phone's alarm woke me up at an unusually late 7a.m., I just wanted to roll over again and have another night's sleep.

I get like this sometimes. I don't know why. I used to think maybe I've inherited a bit of my mom's bipolar disorder, but now I think it might be more related to nutrition and just the everyday ups and downs of life. I am a bit over-sensitive in my interactions with other people. I do tend to take the wrong stuff personally and make too much of situations that are really benign. Whatever. It always passes, and so shall this, I suppose.

It doesn't really help that I'm taking a day off of the swim, bike, run thing. No training today. When things aren't going exactly the way I prefer, it's nice to concentrate on something I can control, my training, but today there is no time. Everyone says you should have a day off now and then, to rest, but I'm a HUGE believer in "active recovery." I'd rather have a low-intensity workout of some sort -- maybe a 25 minute run or a thousand meter slow swim -- than do nothing at all. Especially on a day like this. I usually get cranky if I don't have some sort of energy outlet during the day. Today I'm not cranky, though. Not yet. Just a bit down.

Today's goal: Pep up before dinner and have a really nice time with my friend!

[Photo is the view of Philadelphia from the Belmont Plateau, from the Creative Commons at Flickr: Sunrise at Belmont from Starbuddie84's Photostream]

It's REALLY Hot and I Don't Care

"What's that? You don't care?? This can't possibly be the same Diane?"

Well, it's true. It's been a scorcher lately. But only the second heat-wave of the season. We don't have a/c at our house, though our kids have window units in their bedrooms. And I've been sleeping on the screened porch on the really hot nights. What's different about this year, though, is that it's really not bothering me. I'm not complaining about it. I'm not losing my appetite. I'm not panicking when I get caught in the full sun. I first noticed this at a traffic light on the bike one afternoon. When you're cycling, the breeze (hot as it may be) feels good. When you stop, the breeze does too! That's when you notice how hot it is. But I've just not had the panic as I have in the past, standing in a crowd watching a parade, for example, feeling like I'll die (or at least pass out) if I don't find some shade.

Nobody can believe it's me.

This is also the first summer ever that I haven't had a sunburn followed by peeling at least once. It's also the first summer that I've been outside every day swimming, biking and/or running. I try to aim for the early morning or late evening, but often the hour-plus bike rides begin at 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. And believe me, I try to wear as little as possible. Over this past weekend with the heat wave, I did all three... swim, bike, run to try to give myself a taste of what the August 3rd race could be like. I think I'll do ok. That race is notorious for including an oppressively hot run. I, the notorious shade-seeker, feel prepared. What's with that?

I am the FAIREST of the fair skinned. Nobody has more transparent, awful skin than me. But this year, I'm also a bit "tan" (if you can call it that) for the first time ever. Without sunscreen I'd last about 10 minutes in the sun before I'd begin to burn. After half-an-hour, I'd been in big trouble. I've been using this stuff I found in March... Coppertone Ultraguard SPF 50 "Waterproof, Non Greasy, Moisturizing." It doesn't feel heavy like all the other sunscreens I've used, and I guess it's more effective! I can even use it on my face and it's just fine. With my luck they'll stop making it. I should probably go get another bottle while I'm thinking about it.

Has something physiologically changed with me? Is that possible? I know my body has gone through some pretty amazing changes this past year or so, but nothing has been as surprising as this to me. I like it! A lot!

It's Transition Day!

Today I make a fool of myself practicing transitions in my driveway. My son feels a yard sign is a good idea: Caution: Unstable Athlete Entering and Exiting Driveway at Random.

Very funny.

A friend I met through our neighbors is racing her first Ironman today in Lake Placid. I'm following it online. She's finished the 2.4 mile swim, and probably nearly all of the first leg (56 miles) of the bike, and it's only about four and a half hours into the race. After the second 56 mile bike she'll begin the marathon. I am in awe. Luckily, Lake Placid is much cooler (if also pouring rain) than it is here in Philly.

It's sooooo hot today. As a reward for all my hard work (and resulting lower times), I'll treat myself to a trip to the pool afterward.

You go, Carrie!!

Today I Went Shopping

I don't shop like a girl. I never have. I actually hate to shop. And these days, with "vanity sizing," I never know what size I am. I feel insulted -- like my time isn't valuable -- when I have to go into a dressing room repeatedly to try stuff on only because I have no idea what size I am. And it varies from label to label. So aggravating.

But something's come over me these past few months. Well, I should back up....

I made a vow in January (with a friend... an avid shopper) to "not buy anything for myself for six months," after seeing a video called "The Story of Stuff." It was her idea, but I was sure she'd cave and I wouldn't. I don't even like to shop. It's a piece of cake!! She mentioned that she'd probably need new running shoes before July, "but other than that...." I took that to mean "nothing for myself except workout stuff." I'm new to multi-sport. (New since the beginning of the year.) She's been doing it for a while, and she's sort of a fair weather weekender anyway... not that there's anything wrong with that... hey, if she can pull off a couple of races a year with minimal training, she's a better woman than I. For me, though, I've gone completely insane... hook, line & sinker. To train for the five races (so far) that I've done this year, one of which was a triathlon, I commute to work on my bike (15 miles each way) two or three days a week, swim three days a week, run three days a week. How many days are there in a week?? Yeah, it's become a lifestyle for me. And as I newbie to triathlon training, I still had LOTSA stuff to accumulate. I got a new bike, and running shoes (three times) and cycling shoes and other swim-bike-run stuff of all sorts. You get the picture. During my "six months of no shopping," I'm sure I accumulated at least as much stuff as I did all last year. I know it's because I like finding anything related to my addiction. (Eye protection. I just got the best glasses....)

My laundry is almost exclusively workout gear.

I pack a suitcase once a week for work when I have to drive. My fellow librarian co-workers usually comment, "Is it moving in day?" on the day I bring in the new clothes and haul out the laundry along with my recyclables from my "second breakfast" eating-frenzies. Other than that day, my contribution to the laundry basket at home consists almost entirely of running or cycling shorts and shirts, socks, sports bras, swimsuits, and towels galore.

So, for the first time in my life I like to shop.... for training and racing gear, at least. I have some preetttyy cool -- even matching -- gear. I still don't like to shop for clothes for work, though, but I've had to, a little. I've shrunk out of everything this year. So, my friend didn't cave (as far as I know), but I sure did. I needed new clothes every time the season changed. Does it matter that I didn't enjoy it?

But I digress... As I was saying, today I went shopping. I hit four stores before I made the purchase. I needed a pair of trishorts that wouldn't be too baggy in the water or try to fall off on the run, but wouldn't be too tight either. Before today, I had two pairs of trishorts that I love to wear on my bicycle commutes. I don't like a lot of padding. My seat is awesome and I really don't need it. I wore my favorite of the two pair (the shorter of the two) in my first tri (Thundergust) six weeks ago. They seemed tight enough all the times I wore them on the bike, but were so baggy in the legs in the water that I felt like I was wearing a skirt. Too much drag. (Well, not that clothes are going to help my swim time, but that's a-whole-nother issue.)

Today's mission was to find the perfect tri shorts for August 3rd's SheRox. And I did.

Well, I think I did. I'll know more Monday when I bike them to the pool. But I'm pretty sure I did score. They are Sugoi Piston. The pair I wore at Thundergust were also Sugoi, but made of a different fabric; the Piston's fabric is more like a swimsuit. (My favorite swimsuit is made by Sugoi.) I found them in on my last stop. I have a good feeling about these shorts. Not too long, not too short. A little tighter in the legs than the pair I wore at Thundergust. And, they'll look great with the tri top I already have.

SheROX in Sixteen Days

I suppose for my first post at Blogger, I ought to just jump right in and skip the pleasantries....

Last weekend was the Philly Women's Triathlon. I considered doing that one before my training buddies suggested to me last winter that I consider making SheRox my first. The mentoring program was the selling point, but as it turns out, I didn't really use it all that much after a few emails early on.

So I volunteered at the PWT with the Fairmount Running Club to be the rockin'est water stop on the planet! We had a ball and I got to observe some serious stuff. There are some pretty amazing athletes competing, but there are also a LOT of women who don't train at all for a race like this and last Sunday was a bit hot. We saw some pretty whipped women come through the water stop a mile from the finish line.

I realize women choose these races for tons of different reasons, but I personally think nobody has any business (even if you're just doing it for fun) competing in an event that will take her two-plus hours to finish without *any* (or very little) training. A couple of weekends before the PWT I volunteered with the same club for the Philadelphia Insurance Tri's water stop under the Strawberry Mansion Bridge. It was the Olympic distance race, and it was a lot different from an athletic standpoint. I learned a lot at both races.

So, I'll be doing SheRox on Aug. 3rd and since I already did Thundergust, (a small Tri in South Jersey... I blogged about it here) it won't be my first. I've been trying to strengthen my weak points... my swim and my transitions. In the pool, my swim is actually not bad. It's hard to train the mass start and just swimming the whole 800 meters in a crowd, and those are the things that slowed me down at Thundergust. My training group is small, so our "mass starts" are about 5 people in one lane of the pool. It's fun, there's no stress, and I usually pull ahead of all but one of them. This is not what I experienced at Thundergust!! I'm thinking I'm just going to have to get a few more races under my belt to have the experience. I'm not sure if there is any other way to prepare for that.

I compared my Thundergust results to the Philly Women's Tri results and (even though it's probably not wise) I see that if I had done the same times (horrible swim, long transitions, and all) at the PWT, I would have been 4th in my age group. I'm now having fleeting fantasies of placing in SheRox, but only fleeting! It doesn't help that I have friends egging me on. They love to tweak my competitive side.

Training is going well. My husband, Dave, commented on the heat wave that began today, and I said it was a good training opportunity (in all seriousness!) and he said, "That's one way to look at it, I guess!" So I biked to work today (and it was my favorite commute so far, and fastest!) which means I'll be biking home again at 3pm, in the heat of the day. I'm well prepared and looking forward to it.

I got Swim Workouts in a Binder for Triathletes by Bernhardt & Hansen, which a friend recommended. It's waterproof and meant to use on the deck, which I love. My other workouts are getting pretty moldy in their plastic sheets. I look kind of goofy lifting my goggles to my forehead and putting on my glasses to read workouts in the pool, so I tend to use the same ones (memorized) over and over. I've been in a rut. I needed something to kick start my swim, and this book is good. Maybe as a bonus I'll even get stronger.

My run is up to about 14 or 15 miles. Rather, it's up to about 2 hours and 20 minutes. The next thing after SheRox is the Phila Distance Run, so I've been adding to my time on the trail. Someone suggested I try for the marathon this year instead of next, but I think I'll stick to my plan and wait until 2009 for that. The 2:20 run was NOT that great. The one before that, 2hrs & 5 minutes, was very good, but after the 2:20 run I decided I want to back off a bit. I'm at least going to wait until the heat backs off. I hate carrying water on the trail. (And it always runs out anyway before I want it too!) Also, I tend to go too fast on the longer training runs and I wind up tired and/or slightly injured before the end. I've been trying to get some discipline, but so far I'm terrible at it. On the other hand, for short distances, there's no harm in kicking it. My race pace on the shady trail at Thundergust was 7:55, and I'm wondering how I'll do on the asphalt in the full sun at SheRox. We'll see!

I'm going to Run for the Hill of It July 26th. It's a five miler on my "home court," Forbidden Drive from the Northwestern trailhead to Valley Green & back. I've been running that at lunch for almost a year now. It's my favorite training run.

[photo at top: SheROX Philadelphia 2007; at bottom: Forbidden Drive from mike feagans' photostream at Flickr.]